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6 Episodes 2011 - 2011
Episode 1
Wed, Aug 17, 201159 mins
In 1956, pushy young BBC TV reporter Freddie Lyon, bored with covering celebrity banquets and debutantes' weddings, applies, with his more self-effacing colleague Bel Rowley, to be on the new news magazine series 'The Hour' but loses out on the job of presenter to the suave, older Hector Madden. Bel however is given the producer's job and uses this to engage Freddie as home affairs correspondent with an assistant, would-be sketch writer Isaac Wengow. Dauntless foreign correspondent Lix Storm, who reported on the Spanish Civil War, also joins the team. A man called Peter Darrall has been stabbed to death on the London underground and, whilst the police treat this as a robbery, newly-wed debutante Hon. Ruth Elms, daughter of Lord Elms, is unconvinced and asks her childhood friend Freddie to investigate. On the night of 'The Hour''s launch party, Freddie gets an urgent phone call from Ruth, whom he finds hanged.
Episode 2
Wed, Aug 24, 201159 mins
Hector proves to be an inept interviewer - and Freddie's baiting of him is no help - and 'The Hour' is a critical failure. To revive interest Freddie interviews Ruth's father about the abolition of the death penalty whilst Lix opts for coverage of the Suez canal stand-off,innocently using Kish,Peter Darrall's killer,to interpret for an Egyptian diplomat.The interview is a triumphant return to form for Hector,despite government aide McCain's efforts to prevent it. Freddie is convinced Ruth was murdered - particularly when he works out that Peter was a crossword compiler who used his clues to send out codes. Seeing Kish in one of Ruth's home movies confirms his suspicion.
Episode 3
Wed, Aug 31, 201160 mins
Bel and Freddie spend a weekend in the country with Hector and his wife Marnie at her parents' house. The annoying McCain is present,as is Adam LeRay,TV's 'The Man Who Knew' and the bereaved partner of Ruth. Whilst Lix and Isaac shadow Kish on his behalf,discovering that he is not the BBC employee he claims to be,Freddie quizzes Adam,learning that he is gay and Ruth was to have been his cover. Returning to London,Bel and Hector have sex whilst Freddie meets up with Kish,who tries to kill him but is himself killed,leaving Freddie with the notebook of codes.
Episode 4
Wed, Sep 7, 201160 mins
Freddie visits Kish's widow,who tells him that her husband was in MI6 and believed Peter to be a traitor but can say no more. In Freddie's absence Isaac,having admitted he wants to be writer,has to improvise on domestic news but Suez and the Hungarian invasion provide huge global stories. McCain is predictably censorious regarding the government stance on Suez. Confronted by head of news Clarence over his erratic conduct Freddie tells him about his suspicions,showing him the code book but Clarence advises him to forget about it before meeting with McCain to tell him to stop shadowing Freddie. Everybody celebrates Freddie's birthday after which Bel and Hector continue their affair,about which Freddie knows,whilst Freddie wakes up in bed with Lix.
Episode 5
Wed, Sep 14, 201161 mins
Defying the government's gag on 'The Hour' broadcasting opposition views to Suez,Freddie and Hector take to the streets to record public protests against the war. Marnie tells Bel she knows of her affair with Hector and that he has had others but always returns to her. Clarence too is aware and warns Bel to end it in the show's interest. After Ruth's mother has asked him to stop his sleuthing Freddie learns that Peter was a spy for the Russians and that Ruth was a Bright Stone,or recruit to spy for the Soviets,hence their murders. Furthermore Freddie's name is also on the list as being a Bright Stone.
Episode 6
Wed, Sep 21, 201162 mins
Lix tells Freddie that Peter Darrell and Tom Kish were secret agents sent to Egypt to assassinate the president Nasser and that Ruth, who was in love with Peter, went with them, hence MI6's need to kill her. Though ordered to toe the party line on Suez, the evening's live broadcast contains footage of opposition to the Suez war by members of the public and the American president, as well as a satirical sketch by Isaac. As a climax, Freddie gets Lord Elms to give a deeply personal interview explaining his loss of confidence in the government. The point is made but the show is pulled. Afterwards Hector tells Bel he is going back to Marnie, after an ultimatum from both women, whilst Freddie learns the identity of the actual Soviet agent in the BBC, who listed him as a Brightstone as a decoy.